SACANDAGA GARDEN CLUB - by Barbara Henry | Courtesy of the Edinburg Newsletter

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The Sacandaga Garden Club of Northville, NY was organized in 1972 and became part of the Federated Garden Clubs in 1997. We meet on the first Thursday of the month usually at the Bradt Building, 412 South Main Street, Northville, NY 12134 at 1:00 p.m. unless otherwise specified. Meetings are not held in January, February, July or August.

Currently we have 32 members and always welcome new faces.

The goals of the Club are the study of horticulture and floral design, civic participation and beautification.

Horticulture is defined by the American Collegiate Dictionary as

1) the science or art of cultivating fruits, vegetables, flowers and plants and

2) the cultivation of a garden.

Our address is:
P.O. Box 675
Northville, NY 12134

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Officers for the year 2009-2010 are:

Co-Presidents
Mary Hogan and
Barbara Henry

1st Vice President
Fran Varcoe

2nd Vice President
Anna Johnson

Secretary
Bonnie Defosse

Treasurer
Phyllis Smith

Club Advisor
Doris Guyon

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February 2010
Starters
Soil Activity

January 2010
Worms
fall issues

October 2009
Worms
fall issues

September 2009
Fall gardening

August 2009
Dragonflies and Wildflowers

July 2009
Dragonflies and Wildflowers

June 2009
Dragonflies and Wildflowers

April 2009
transplanting seedlings

March 2009
Starting Seeds

February 2009
spring pruning

January 2009
Who we are
and what we do

December 2008
Armchair Gardening month

October 2008
forcing bulbs

September 2008
planting bulbs

 

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. How about some gardening words of affection? Such as - You are the apple of my eye, or Bee mine…or I’ll be
crestfallen, and maybe – Love me tendril!

The snow is still covering my garden, leaving me to wonder what creatures are making all those tracks in the snow. Still Spring is not so far away
and I have seeds started for the early garden. Lettuce, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower are examples of seeds that can be started now because
they can be transplanted out right around our last frost date which is around the last week in May.

The transplants will need to be hardened off but they will survive a light frost and if a harder frost is expected a light covering of an old lampshade or
shower curtain will help them out. I also have seedlings started for quite a few perennials. Generally these take longer both to germinate and to grow so I started several varieties back in December and have various yogurt containers with little seedlings filling up my windowsills waiting for the warm weather.

Believe it or not we still do have soil activity during the winter. Soil beneath bare ground is colder than that protected by mulch and/or snow cover. The low winter sun hits the south facing slopes making the soil a little warmer in those areas too. The warmer the soil in winter the greater the biological activity. All the organic material we put down last year feeds the earthworms and the microorganisms and the warmer the soil the more these creatures will work to breakdown the material and release the nutrients. Earthworms act as mini tillers creating tunnels to improve drainage which is especially important in the spring as the snow thaws and
creates standing water.

Some plants cannot stand to have their roots in water, delphiniums and
lavenders are two examples. Winter damage to these plants is frequently the result of poor drainage so if this is happening in your garden,
consider adding some gravel or sand to improve the drainage.

The nutrients in the soil can be washed away with standing water and spring rains and that is why we recommend a fall feeding of the garden so
that the fertilizers can be drawn down by the freezing and thawing action deeper into the soil.

I have hyacinths blooming in my house now, the scent is wonderful. I kept the bulbs in a cold dark place for about 12 weeks over winter and brought
them out in the beginning of January. I put them in a cool (about 60 degrees) bright place where they developed roots and the shoots started to grow. A couple of weeks later I brought more bulbs out and started them so I can have hyacinths blooming most of February to remind me that there really is an end in sight to winter.

Actually one good sign that winter is coming to an end is that I get to see more of my neighbors, Molly and Madison. Since it is a little warmer they
play outside a little longer and always run over to see me when I am in the yard. By the way, Molly is a black lab and Maddy is a yellow lab. Such a great help when I am adding to my compost pile, they love to help root around in the pile and dig up treasures. I have given up explaining to their
owner why they go back to her with melon rinds or tea bags.

I also remembered to bring out my amaryllis bulbs from storage. After I dried them out last Fall I put them in my unheated garage for the winter.
This is actually a bit colder than they like but I protected them in a container and they survived.

Now the leaves are growing and I am looking forward to blossoms soon.
The Garden Club is looking forward to starting up again for the season.

Our next meeting is on March 4 when we have a presentation by Crystal
Stewart of Cornell Co-op Extension on pruning– when to do it, how to do it and all her tips and techniques. If you’d like to come and see what we
are all about we would love to see you at the Bradt Building at 1:00 p.m.